Sheila Duffy: Benefits of tobacco display ban will be seen among young

Published on Tuesday 22 September 2009 21:44

IN 1956, shortly after the links between smoking and lung cancer were demonstrated beyond doubt, the first legislation to control tobacco took shape.

Since then, the evidence of tobacco's toll on health has mounted, and we have seen legislation – most recently the Scottish Government's Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Bill. It will be discussed at a conference today and debated by MSPs tomorrow.

The measures include a ban on the promotional retail display of tobacco, a ban on cigarette vending machines, and stricter sanctions for those who break tobacco sales laws.

Tobacco is a uniquely dangerous product. Not because it is addictive and lethal but because it is legal, addictive and lethal. There is no other product sold in shops which if used as directed can kill. In Scotland, one in four deaths is caused by tobacco. That's 13,500 people every year, the majority of whom will have taken up smoking in their teens. Smoking is a childhood addiction, with two thirds of smokers becoming hooked under the age of 18. A child who starts smoking at age 14 or younger is 15 times more likely to die of lung cancer than someone who never smokes. It is, therefore, unsurprising our policymakers and politicians are seeking to protect our young people from the harm caused by smoking.

While we are seeing more young people away turn from trying cigarettes, there still remains a high proportion who do smoke, with 15 per cent of 15-year-olds and 4 per cent of 13-year-olds smoking regularly, despite a minimum purchase age of 18.

Nobody chooses to start a habit that kills half of its long-term regular users but tobacco's highly addictive nature means it is easy to get hooked. There are many complex social and cultural reasons why children experiment with smoking, with the visibility and availability of cigarettes clear factors.

Cigarettes are not like chocolate bars where you may use a display to choose whether you fancy a Twix, a Kit Kat or Wispa. More than 93 per cent of smokers know exactly what brand they want before they even step into a shop. The prominent promotional displays of cigarettes have an impact on future smokers, not current smokers.

The proposed display ban is not about stopping adults buying cigarettes or retailers selling them. It is about stopping the promotion of tobacco to children through retail marketing which – we know from research – has a highly significant and disproportionate influence on children and young people.

An estimated 15,000 young Scots take up smoking every year. The display ban is a long-term measure aimed at reducing that figure. It is children who are still at nursery who will really feel the benefits of this measure as they grow up without facing large displays of cigarettes, which have pride of place in every corner shop and local supermarket.

I can understand why retailers are uneasy about changes to the way they store a product and incurring the one-off cost of changing gantries. But that must be weighed against the cost to health, lives, and the NHS.

Tobacco remains Scotland's biggest killer with 24 per cent of all deaths due to smoking. It costs the NHS in Scotland more than 409 million every year to treat smoking related diseases and it costs the Scottish economy 837m every year.

The tobacco bill is being viewed as a health bill but it is also a children's bill that can help prevent young people starting to smoke. Without tobacco, they face a brighter future.

&#149 Sheila Duffy is chief executive, of ASH Scotland.